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Last season, linebacker Joey Porter was in the running for NFL defensive MVP until he tailed off late in the season.

Hampered by a hamstring injury for the past month, Porter hasn’t approached his 2008 form. But he’s back to 100 percent, he’s ready and he kicks off today’s talking points.

1. Joey Porter is healthy again and ready to make an impact.

Porter, 32, was going to be hard-pressed to duplicate his his career year (17 1/2 sacks in 2008) even before his hamstring injury.

The Dolphins need Joey Porter at his best Sunday, like he was when sacking Peyton Manning this season. (Robert Duyos / Sun-Sentinel)

But the Dolphins don’t need Porter to be Superman again. He has Jason Taylor and a host of young pass-rushers (Cam Wake, Phillip Merling, Kendall Langford) to help pressure the QB.

Porter does need to get back into the mix to give Miami the pass rush it needs. An inconsistent pass rush has contributed to an AFC-high 8.4 yards an attempt and 14.1 yards a completion vs. Miami.

Six of the team’s 12 sacks were in one game, a rout of the Bills, but the Dolphins also have faced some of the league’s best QBs.

Drew Brees, the best in the NFC, is next. But Wednesday Porter had his first full practice in a month and sounds like his old self.

“Our goal is to knock them off their high horse,” Porter said of the Saints. “I’m ready to go. We’ll see if Peezy shows up on Sunday.”

2. The Saints have been a machine.

The numbers put up by unbeaten New Orleans are nothing short of amazing, regardless of a Saints’ schedule that includes wins against the one-win Lions and two-win Bills.

New Orleans, which did score 48 on both the Eagles and Giants, averages an NFL-high 38.4 points – a touchdown better than No. 2 Minnesota (31.5) – and has not trailed once. One reason is the Saints have scored a TD on their first possession of every game.

On defense, New Orleans is sixth in points allowed (18.6 a game) and leads the league with 15 takeaways, and returned three for scores.

The Saints have a league-high plus-9 turnover margin.

Add it up and the Dolphins face their toughest test yet.

3. Shawn Murphy was a wild-card pick that didn’t work out.

The Dolphins saw something in Murphy, moving up five spots in the fourth round of the 2008 draft to get him.

But the converted defensive end who played college ball at WAC-doormat Utah State and was the son of two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy didn’t ever pan out. He a brief stint during the off-season at starting right guard while Donald Thomas recovered from a pectoral injury, but faded into the background when Thomas returned.

Teams don’t normally part with a fourth-round pick so soon. But Murphy was inactive in all 22 games as a Dolphin, and Miami decided it was time to move on.

“The head coach has a responsibility to try to develop this guy the best you can,” Tony Sparano, a former O-line coach, said. “I’m not proud of the fact that we had to let Murph go.”